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Disclaimer:
The reviewers' opinions are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of TheatreLouisville.org. |
Peer Reviews Beauty
and The Beast Entire contents copyright © 2008 Kevin Temple. All rights reserved.
Any show whose title is preceded with "Disney's" already comes with high expectations. I could not wait to see what type of variation or interpretation I might be setting myself up for, as directors seem to put their own little "bits" into whatever type of show they may be directing.
The classic enchanting musical of Disney's Beauty and The Beast tells the story of a sweet young lady named Belle who, despite the expectations of the town, decides to bury herself in books and feed her imagination. Belle, who is being sought after by the over-muscled, full-of-himself, self-proclaimed man-of-men Gaston, finds that she is isolating herself from the normal expected duties of women by following free-thinking ideas as encouraged by her genius of a father. While her father is on his way to a science show, he gets lost and winds up a prisoner in an enchanted castle, which is owned by a horrible-looking beast. Through some bargaining and pleading, Belle is able to set her father free in exchange for taking his place as a prisoner for life. After a few long arguments and some coaxing from friends, Belle decides to give into the request of the beast and have dinner with him. The beast, with the help of many of his wonderful sidekicks, learns that demanding something of Belle is just not the answer — he must use charm and manners. The inhabitants of the castle have been under an evil spell, making them turn into inanimate objects, and as time passes they will not be saved unless the beast can fall in love and the love is returned. This spell is timed by the withering away of a special rose. The show was preceded by the Footnotes vocal group and a unique message from Bekki Jo Schneider, the show's producer. She welcomed each and every one of us and asked us to applaud the fact that there were many children in the audience. Bekki Jo also said it was a credit to the parents that they are here, for if not, live theater could perish. I have to agree — live theater is a very necessary part of our community and world, and it helps with the individual development of people as a whole. I don't believe a value can be set on the number of friends and experiences that come from live theater. The show's costumes were magnificent, and the characters wore them well. The sets were also very fitting, and the music was fantastic, as there was a well-balanced level allowing us to hear every lyric of every song. I was absolutely amazed by the voices and characteristics portrayed on stage. Allison Berry mesmerized the audience with her voice as the beautiful Belle. Belle's father Maurice, played by longtime Footnote Cary Wiger, did a fantastic job portraying the genius inventor. Brian Bowman strutted around the stage as if he owned the place as he played a wonderful Gaston, the over-eager wannabe suitor of Belle. Gaston's cheerleader sidekick, Lefou, was quite funny played by Eric Deiboldt. Debbie King-Raque played a kindhearted Mrs. Potts, with a very sweet child, Madelyn Steurer, as Chip. Jim Hesselman played a very good, nervous, down-to-earth Cogsworth who tried to keep everything in perspective. Tyler Bliss could not have done a more perfect portrayal of the comedic candle Lumiere. Megan Muller made us laugh with her shimmy-dancing and her over-the-top energy as the maid Babette, and you could see in the actions of Adam Clough that there was a roller-coaster of feelings he had to go through as The Beast. As I stood, applauded and tried to come up with a word or phrase that would describe my feelings at the ending of the performance, I was stumped. Then it happened, and the perfect phrase jumped into my head. As I was applauding the talent on stage, the voice of a nearby seven-year-old boy gave me the inspiration, as he exclaimed, "THAT WAS AWESOME!!!"
Disney's Beauty and The Beast Posted June 29, 2008
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